Redeemer Lutheran Church Executive Summary/Strategic Plan

A Strategic Planning Task Force, appointed by the Church Council Chair, worked for several months to review the current status of Redeemer Lutheran Church, to identify both positive trends and concerns, and to recommend strategic directions for the future. The Task Force report was submitted to the Church Council last March, and is currently under review and in partial implementation by the Council.

Many good things are present at Redeemer, including: high quality worship services, with outstanding music; a solid core of members; a beautiful and highly functional physical facility; renewed energy in the Sunday School and Youth Ministry programs; continued strength in Confirmation, Pre-School and After School ministries; a small but effective cadre of dedicated volunteers pursuing our ministries; and many beneficial social concerns ministries such as Partner for Surgery and Stop Hunger Now. The arrival of Pastor Sandy Kessinger has added major strength to worship and programming at Redeemer, and has brought a caring and supportive sense of shared community to the congregation.

The Task Force identified, and reviewed, several areas where substantial attention should be placed as we envision our future:

Worship and Music (number and times for Sunday worship, using worship to Share Christ’s Love with the Greatest Number of People, music program, …)
Education (Sunday School, Confirmation, adult education, youth ministry, Preschool, After School Program, …)
Stewardship (financial, time and talent, …)
Community (building a stronger community inside the congregation, developing membership, reaching out to the local community, communicating, …)
Logistics (staffing, organizational structure, attracting new members, need for an effective member data base, …)

At the time of our study, deliberations and interactions with members of the congregation conducted by the Task Force led it to focus on several areas of concern:

Redeemer’s membership remained essentially static.
Members attending worship had declined as a percent of total membership.
Redeemer had many vacant leadership positions.
Our finances needed to be improved, especially since we took on major new financial responsibilities with our building program.
Participation in worship services on Sunday mornings was unbalanced, and youth generally were not present.

The congregation makeup has changed over recent years. Some of the long-time, older members have left us for distant retirement locations or due to their deaths. Newer and younger members have joined, and they bring with them a welcome vitality to the congregation. However, with the ebb and flow of church membership we continue to feel the many financial pressures placed upon the church. The Task Force has recommended that we develop better connections with our surrounding community, develop better connections with visitors, and better connect new and current members to our organizations and ministries in order to build our confirmed membership base.

While contributions to the building campaign have been substantial, contributions to the church operating fund have decreased in recent years. Annual budgets, which have carefully reflected the needs of the congregation, have been significantly higher than actual expenditures (limited by receipts) in recent years. We need to have the resources to meet our programming. To achieve that we will need to promote, recruit and seek a larger and diverse giving pool.

The Task Force report concludes with action plans aimed at meeting five major goals:

More effectively fulfill its stated mission.
Assisting each member to make Christ the center of their lives.
Increasing the active participation of the membership in the proclamation of the Gospel.
Building a stronger, more current and interactive community of members at Redeemer.
Achieving financial stability for the long term.

The Church Council has begun implementation of the recommendations made in the report of the Strategic Planning Task Force. It is our hope that the broad membership of the congregation will engage in discussions about their personal involvement in shaping the future of Redeemer Lutheran Church.